Africa Free from Worsening Western Unbelief

A worldwide survey by the Pontifical Council for Culture says Africa, Latin America and Asia are untouched by a growing indifference to God in the Western world.

"Unbelief is not increasing in the world. It is not connected to the Asian, Latin American or African world."

However, the abandonment of religious practice is on the rise in the West especially in men although women working outside the home are also affected, the study found.

In January 2004, a survey of ten countries found that 100 percent of Nigerians believed in God, with 91 percent regularly attending a religious service.

Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II has urged the Catholic Church to step up its efforts to match the "spreading" evangelical force of the modern sects that are targeting "those who find themselves in difficulties and loneliness".

He called for a "courageous endeavor of new evangelization" that will lead every human being to an encounter with Jesus.

The Pope, who was speaking to parishioners from a number of Rome parishes assembled at the Vatican, wished all parishes in the world could become places of hospitality and solidarity.